


hold out your hand

by chase_the_wind



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cousins, Family Feels, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Aedion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:49:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29516283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chase_the_wind/pseuds/chase_the_wind
Summary: The smell of the fallingAnd burning of leavesThe bitterness of winterOr the sweetness of springYour heart is your masterpieceAnd I’ll keep it safeI promise you I’ll keep you safe“I am going to buy you two whatever time I can,” Marion’s face was pale but determined.  “Run for the footbridge in the woods, head to the abandoned barn.  Do not come out unless you recognize someone.  Stick together, protect each other.”ORAedion was with his family the night Terrasen fell, and everything changes because of it.
Relationships: Aedion Ashryver & Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	hold out your hand

**Author's Note:**

> Title: "I'll Keep You Safe" - Sleeping at Last

It was Aelin's screams that woke him. 

Half-asleep and blinded by panic, Aedion threw himself from his bed and nearly slammed face-first into the floor. Somehow, he got his feet steady beneath him, and then he was running - the fear in Aelin’s scream like a fire beneath his bare feet, propelling him faster and faster.

With his speed, he was the first at her room. 

He slammed through the door with enough force to almost take it off its hinges - somewhere inside him, he winced, knowing that it was going to earn him a tongue-lashing - 

But all thought was wiped clean from his mind when he saw her. 

Aelin was screaming, thrashing - flames spilling from her mouth with every scream, the flames licking up her hands and arms. Ash and soot was heavy in the air - there were already large scorch marks across her sheets.

So frantic, so blinded by fear, Aedion threw himself at her without thinking. 

The flames were hot, so hot, but they did not burn - not where they touched her skin, nor where they touched him. He could feel the spark of her magic - fearful, lashing out, but recognizing him at some deep, base level. 

"Aelin! _Aelin_!"

His cousin awoke with a strangled gasp that quickly became coughing as she tried to suck in air. She shot straight up in bed, her hands still aflame. Her grip was tight around his forearms - he could see the tears on her face, reflecting the flames still around her hands. The heat against his forearms was intense, but not painful. 

Aelin blinked, more tears rolling down her face, cutting through the ash smeared across her cheeks. 

His voice was calm, belaying no hint of his racing heart. "It's alright, it's alright, it was just a dream-"

"Aedion?" 

Something in his chest fractured at the fear in her voice, the way her small shoulders curled forward as if she were bracing for a blow. 

"Yes, Aelin, it's me, it's Aedion." 

Her little face seemed to crumple, and she lifted one hand to clutch at her forehead, fingernails digging into her scalp so deep he winced in sympathy. Without thinking, he grabbed her wrist, prepared to pull her hand away before she hurt herself. 

"Aedion, it hurt, they were...they were-"

She hiccuped on a sob, shaking so hard that his fear started to ramp up harder. 

Carefully, he tugged on her wrist to remove her hand from her hair. Aelin pitched forward and slumped against him, her head falling into the curve where his neck met his shoulder. Her tiny hands clutched the back of his sleep shirt tightly, so tightly he was sure that there would be rips in the fabric. 

"It hurt, it hurt - my head, there were maggots trying to burrow into my head," she sobbed.

His hands were trembling slightly when he carefully ran one down the back of her head, smoothing away her sweat-soaked hair. 

"You're safe, I'm here...it was just a nightmare." 

There was clanging in the hall, and Aelin flinched in his grip. 

"Aelin?! Aedion?!" 

It was Evalin and Rhoe, running into the room still dressed in their own sleep clothes. Rhoe had a hand wrapped around the hilt of a dagger, his eyes immediately flickering around the room - scanning for threats. 

Evalin threw herself on the bed next to the two of them.

His cousin did not loosen her grip on him.

"What happened, fireheart? A nightmare?" 

Evalin's sharp eyes missed nothing - she saw how terrified Aelin was, how closely she clung to Aedion. She saw the soot and ash in the air, the scorched holes in the bedsheets. It was a miracle that the bed did not go up in flames completely. 

Her eyes flicked up to meet her husbands, and they exchanged helpless glances. Rhoe sheathed his dagger, crossing the room in a few steps to also sit on the bed. 

He froze partway.

"Evalin," Rhoe's voice was low, disbelieving. 

His eyes were focused on Aedion's sleeves. 

Aedion followed his uncle's gaze and realized what had shocked him. 

There were scorch marks, burned right through the sleeves of his sleep shirt in perfect imprint of Aelin's small hands, right where she had gripped his forearm tightly as she awoke from her nightmare. 

But the skin underneath - 

His forearms were unblemished. Not even a hint of red from the temperature. 

She had burned through his shirt, but had not burned him. 

Aelin, slowly coming back to herself, pulled back far enough to see Aedion's arm - and she flinched, instinctively rearing back, pain and sorrow filling her eyes with tears again. 

"No, no, you didn't hurt me," Aedion reassured, showing her his forearm, "You only burned through the clothes - you didn't harm me." 

Aelin's eyes were disbelieving as she took in his unblemished skin. 

"How?" 

"I don't know...you sounded so afraid, I just...reacted. I grabbed you. And I could feel the heat of your fire, could feel it against my skin, but it didn't hurt - it was almost as if your magic was trying to protect you, and it realized that I was there to help." 

It was enough for her. Aelin slumped heavily against him, keeping her arms tight around his torso as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. Evalin stayed right there on the bed with them, her fingers never leaving Aelin's arm. 

Evalin and Rhoe looked at each other again, having one of those long conversations through just blinks.

"I am going to get a healer, just to check you over, love," Rhoe leaned down over the bed and kissed the top of Aelin's head, a distraught look in his eyes as he looked down at his trembling, terrified daughter. His eyes met Aedion's, a small smile quirking his lips as he reached out to ruffle his nephew’s hair, "Stay with Aelin. Keep her safe, okay?" 

"Always," Aedion vowed.

.

.

.

The healers had been summoned to Aelin's room - by then, Aelin had fallen into her mother's arms and Aedion had ducked back to his room to change his shirt. 

When he came back down the hall to Aelin's room, he froze in the dark - with his heightened hearing, he could make out every word of Evalin and Rhoe's whispered arguing.

"—was _her_ , it has to be Rhoe!"

"We cannot know that for sure," Rhoe gently countered, but even Aedion could hear the doubt in his voice. He was trying to reassure his wife, even as the same thoughts ran rampant through his mind. 

_Her_. 

Queen Maeve of Doranelle.

Was Maeve behind this? Why? What motivation?

To undermine them in front of the King of Adarlan, who made no secret his loathing of magic? To remind Evalin of her debt that had still not been paid? A way to remind them that no matter the ocean between them, she could hurt Aelin with minimal effort? 

Whatever the motivation, Aedion knew that Maeve was dangerous - a boogeyman lurking in the shadows that threatened them endlessly. 

It was part of the reason he had thrown himself into training as soon as he was allowed. He was to be Aelin's shield against the world, her sword against the enemy. Everything he was would belong to her in the future. 

Hells, most of him had been wrapped around her tiny fingers since he first held her as a baby.

The sound of his uncle speaking his name snapped Aedion out of his thoughts. 

"— happened with Aedion, what does it mean? She burned through her sheets, right through his shirt, and there was not a mark on him." 

Evalin sighed, a faint rustle as she paced in tight circles in the hall outside Aelin's room.

"I don't know. Maybe Aedion was right - her magic was reacting to a threat, but recognized him as a protector. Maybe Aedion has his own latent magic that protected him. Maybe..." Evalin hesitated. 

"Maybe?" Rhoe gently encouraged. 

"Maybe they have a mate bond. You cannot hurt your mate, every instinct rebels against the very thought." 

"They are children-"

"Aelin can shift into a fully fae form. Aedion has fae gifts. There is a chance." 

There was a roaring in his ears. 

A part of Aedion wanted to laugh - a mate bond? Between him and _Aelin_? He loved her, loved her with every ounce of himself, but it was the love of a sister. She was his cousin, his best friend - his future Queen.

Yet, a small, secret hidden part of him _yearned_ \- not for Aelin, not like that, but for the _belonging_. For the knowledge that no matter what happened in the world, there was one person that was made for you, that would always be there for you. For it to be Aelin, the girl who already had all of him - it would have been so _easy_. 

Still, something deep within him knew that there was no mate bond between him and his cousin - knew it with the kind of deep, visceral certainty that came with his heightened senses, the instincts that roared in the back of his mind whenever he saw Aelin cry, whenever he saw the tension in Evalin's face, when he saw the concern in his uncle's gaze. 

The overwhelmingly deep, territorial fae instincts to protect _family_ \- not the blinding, consuming need to protect a mate. 

He came back to himself again, just in time to hear Evalin and Rhoe come to a decision. 

"At dawn, we will head to the manor," Evalin declared. "We will stay there for a bit, take her away from the stress." 

"And Aedion?"

"He will come with us." 

"You don't think it is too dangerous for him?"

Aedion felt himself bristling - he could take care of himself. He was not a child. 

Evalin laughed lightly - it was not a joyous laugh, rather one of exhaustion. 

"Do you think that he would stay behind after this, after seeing her so afraid? Do you think Aelin would not throw a fit to end all fits if she realized we were leaving him behind? Especially now that she knows that her magic won't hurt him? You will have to pry her hands off of him. I am surprised that she let him leave the room to change." 

Aedion smiled. Aelin had always been territorial about those she considered _hers_. So few people were - so many children were afraid of her, afraid of her powers. 

But not him. Never him. 

"I'll tell Marion our plans," Rhoe sighed, and something in Aedion clenched to hear the exhaustion, the fear in his Uncle's voice. "She will help us get everything packed and ready to go." 

"Go. I will talk with the healers."

There was a long silence, and then the faint sound of his aunt and uncle embracing. A brief kiss, and they were departing ways, their footsteps swift and assured. 

Aedion didn't linger in the hallway - as soon as the coast was clear, he slipped down the hall into Aelin's room. The windows had been cracked open enough to air out the lingering scent of smoke in the room, the sheets quickly changed and the bed remade. 

Aelin was tucked into bed, her hair damp from the bath. She was curled up, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She didn't look up when he moved over to her. 

He flopped dramatically on the bed, letting his arm drape over her. Aelin didn't even roll her eyes or make a single noise in protest. 

Her lack of reaction chilled him more than anything. 

“If you are going to terrify me, I would request that it be when I am awake,” he tried to lightly tease her. 

She was silent for a long moment before she sighed. “They are called nightmares cause they happen at night, so try and ask for something more practical next time.“

Aedion snorted. 

Aelin wiggled, turning over so she was facing him.

The cousins stared at each other without saying a word for several long minutes. 

“We are going to the manor at dawn,” Aedion finally broke the silence. “You should get some sleep.”

Aelin blinked at him, her eyes huge in the dark. 

“Will you stay with me?”

Aedion tightened his grip around her small body, tucking her closer to his chest. She settled close, letting her head rest over his heart. 

“Always.”

.

.

.

The healers tried to convince Evalin and Rhoe to leave Aedion in the city, for his own safety.

His aunt and uncle had not breathed a word about how even in the clutches of her nightmares, Aelin didn't hurt him, nor did they share any of their theories. The risk of their suspicions getting back to Maeve was too great - so they did not say anything. 

One look at Aedion, a stormy expression on his face as he ignored them and instead mounted his horse, was enough. The healers stopped trying.

They all left the city quickly at dawn - just Evalin, Rhoe, Aelin and Aedion, with Lady Marion and a handful of guards and servants. 

Aelin looked exhausted, and Aedion knew he did not look much better. The cousins had only gotten a handful of hours of sleep before Evalin had come into the room to wake them. She had not been surprised at all to see Aedion sprawled across the top of the sheets, Aelin curled up against his side. 

“Did you have any more nightmares, fireheart?” 

Aelin wordlessly shook her head. 

Evalin smiled, and for a moment, all the exhaustion on her face seemed to fade away.

“Of course there were no more nightmares, you had Aedion here to watch over you.”

Aedion had tried to hide how those words made his chest swell with pride. 

And so when they got to the manor and Evalin and Rhoe spent the next two days arguing, Marion and Aedion were the ones who made sure Aelin was distracted. 

Marion would tell Aelin stories - specifically, Aelin’s favorite: Marion’s own story. 

Aelin had sat there, enraptured, as Marion braided her hair. Aedion, no matter how he would deny it, was equally enthralled. 

Marion told them how she had been a laundress in the palace since childhood, and yet her whole life changed when Rhoe’s new wife arrived. Evalin had accidentally stained her husband’s favorite shirt with ink and had sought out Marion to help her get it out before he noticed. They had become fast friends, and Evalin made Marion her lady-in-waiting. And then when Aelin came, Marion was her nursemaid. 

Then Cal Lochan, the Lord of Perranth, returned to the palace from a rotation on the southern border. And Marion had laughed as she spoke about how her now-husband had constantly sought her out with a sheepish expression on his face and some sort of stained clothing in his hands. 

They fell in love and married - and Marion became Lady of Perranth and had Elide. Marion’s face was so full of love as she told the two of them her story, the fairytale ending that she had never envisioned for herself. 

“One day, you are going to meet someone who loves you, every part of you - even the parts of yourself that you don’t like so much,” Marion reassured Aelin, running her fingers over Aelin’s shoulders comfortingly. 

“Do you really think so?” 

Marion had cuddled Aelin close, pressing a kiss to the little girl’s temple. 

“I know so. You are so very easy to love, Aelin.” 

And when Marion was busy, or Aelin became restless, Aedion distracted her.

He snuck her outside, made sure she was dressed in a pair of small breeches and a tunic instead of her normal dress. She had beamed up at him when he handed her a knife, already bouncing a bit on her toes in excitement. 

"Hold it like this," he corrected her grip. "That way, if they try to yank it out of your hand, you can hold onto it without risking a broken thumb." 

Her mother would be horrified to see her wielding weapons, but Marion - Marion who wore daggers strapped to her thighs underneath her dresses - had smiled and winked at Aedion as the two kids snuck out to the woods behind the manor. 

Aedion could see out of the corner of his eyes as small figures peered at them from around trees and over rocks, all dark eyes and spindly fingers.

The Little Folk. 

For as long as he could remember, they had been drawn to him, and to a greater degree, to Aelin. Little gifts of flowers or carved figurines appeared at the edges of the clearings they played in, and Aelin had cherished each little gift. She had laughed, sharing pretty rocks and ribbons she found with the Little Folk whenever she could.

Aelin was currently too distracted to notice the Little Folk’s curious gazes. 

“Okay, so since you are little, you have both an advantage and a disadvantage,” Aedion taught her, remembering all the lessons that he had been given when he started training several years ago. 

“Because you are so small, if someone gets their arms around you, you are not going to be able to rely on strength to get free,” he explained, motioning her to stand in front of him. “Your best advantage is that it will be harder for them to catch you. You are faster, and stealthier. All you need is to get a couple of good blows to the right place, and then you run.” 

Aelin blinked up at him, determination in her gaze. It was the first time in days that he had seen her without the hint of fear in her expression - whatever the magical attack had been, whatever caused her to wake up screaming from her nightmares, was finally starting to fade. 

“Aim here,” he motioned to the inner thighs, where the large artery ran. “You puncture that artery, and they will bleed out in minutes. Here,” he motioned to the sides of his torso. “Angle upwards, but be careful to not aim so high you hit ribs - they will block your swing.” 

He walked Aelin through defensive maneuvers, laughing lightly when she stumbled and patiently correcting her stance when she got frustrated. 

The hours slipped by quickly, and when they finally heard Marion calling for them, it was almost dinner time. 

Aedion pushed his sweaty hair back off his face. Aelin was covered in dirt, and he just knew that they were both going to get a lecture for getting so messy. 

Seeing the smile on Aelin’s face, her eyes finally free from the shadows, he knew it was more than worth it. 

“Aedion, look!” 

Aelin darted to the edges of the clearing, delight clear in her tone. She picked up two flower crowns - one larger than the other. The small one full of bright wildflowers in shades of red and orange, the larger one made up of white and blue flowers. 

Aedion dutifully knelt in front of his cousin so she could delicately place the crown across his brow, her tongue caught between her lips in concentration. 

“Here, tilt your head up,” he took the small crown made for her and gently placed it over her mused curls. 

“How do I look?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips and smiling toothily up at him. 

“Like a princess,” he joked, before standing to his full height. 

“Come on, we don’t want to keep Marion waiting!” 

They raced back to the manor, laughing all the way. 

.

.

.

The night that everything ended, it was the maid’s screams that woke him.

He was disoriented from the storm that had been raging half the night, but he threw himself out of bed and stumbled into the halls. He ran for the sound of the screams, his heart racing - 

As soon as he had stepped into the hall, he could smell the bitter, cooper tang of blood. 

The maid was still screaming in the doorway of his aunt and uncle’s room, her fear and horror palpable. 

He pushed past her and immediately stopped dead in the middle of the room. 

His aunt and uncle were laying in bed, both on their backs. Their throats - 

Gods above, their _throats_ \- their throats had been _slashed_. There was blood, _so much blood_ , everywhere - streaks drying on the walls, pooling on the bed, dripping onto the floor. The metallic smell of copper and the sickly scent of _death_ was overwhelming.

Evalin and Rhoe’s expressions were blank, their eyes open as they stared unseeingly at the ceiling. There was nothing left - none of his aunt’s warmth or his uncle’s humor remained in their lifeless faces. 

And there, curled in the middle of the bed between their bodies, was Aelin. 

For a long, heart-stopping moment, Aedion thought she was dead too.

The tidal wave of grief and horror at that thought almost drove him to his knees.

Then Marion was there, shouldering past the still-screaming maid. Her eyes were wide at the gore and the horror before her - _it was her best friend dead on the bed_ \- but she did not hesitate. She leaned over Evalin’s body and plucked Aelin right from the bed and immediately hurried out of the room.

Aedion felt his legs grow weak again when he realized that Aelin was _alive_ \- 

He stumbled out of the room after Marion, the need to keep Aelin in his sights the only thing that cut through the cold fog of panic and grief.

Marion carried Aelin and led Aedion to her own chambers, into the bathing room attached. Gently, she sat Aelin on the counter, turning to fill the bath. 

Aelin was _covered_ in blood - it matted her golden hair to her face, dried stiff on her nightgown. There was a glint of gold at her throat - the Amulet of Orynth, one of the sacred heirlooms of their family. The one that Rhoe had given Evalin to protect her. The one that Evalin had given to Aelin just that night to soothe her. 

Aelin blinked at him, not a flicker of recognition in her gaze. It was as if she had sunk down deep into herself, so far that nothing could touch her. 

The light, the joy that he had been so proud to coax back out - it was gone, snuffed out completely. Not a single ember of that light remained. 

“Aelin,” he whispered, his voice sounding like a shout in the empty room. 

Her gaze flickered over to him, but there was no recognition, no indication that she was actually hearing him. 

Aedion reached out and held onto her hand tightly, ignoring the cold and sticky blood that was drying on her skin. The blood of her parents. 

“I am right here,” he promised, squeezing her small fingers gently. “I am right here, and I love you.” 

Her gaze remained blank, but tears started to well in the corners of her eyes. 

He knew his own tears were welling, knew that he was a hair's breadth away from falling apart, but he _had_ to make sure that she knew he was there, that she was not alone -

“I am right here,” he whispered once again, his chest aching as he spoke into words the promise he alway carried in his heart. “I am always going to be right here.” 

.

.

.

His mind was numb, as if his entire skull had been stuffed full of cotton. Everything seemed to be happening at an arm’s length away from him. 

It felt as though his every limb had been weighed down with lead, but he forced himself to walk to the closet in the hall. His fingers were clumsy as he tried to pull the door open, finally managing to do so after a minute or so. He grabbed some clean sheets, tucked them under his arm, and steeled himself. 

Aedion slowly walked back to the room - the screaming maid had been led away, thankfully. 

Distantly, he knew the servants were in a frenzy, their panic and hysterical voices registering in a part of him that still seemed so far away. 

He ignored them, ignored everything else.

He tried not to look too closely at his aunt and uncle, tried to keep himself numb, but he felt the hot tears start to fall again despite himself. 

Aedion unfolded one of the sheets, and carefully spread it across Evalin’s body. 

Before he covered her face, he gently closed her eyes. 

He could hear her voice, as clear as day, whispering to Aelin the morning they left Orynth. _Of course there were no more nightmares, you had Aedion here to watch over you._

He closed Rhoe’s eyes next, something deep inside him shattering as he covered his uncle’s body with the second clean sheet. Remembered his uncle’s stern face and kind eyes as he watched Aedion comfort Aelin. 

_Stay with Aelin. Keep her safe, okay?_

“I’ll keep her safe,” he whispered to the empty room. 

As he turned to leave, the moonlight seemed to glint off of something in the corner of the room. 

It was the Sword of Orynth. 

Hesitant, he picked it up. 

This was House Galathynius’ ancestral weapon. Rhoe carried this sword to protect his country, to protect his family. This sword was rightfully Aelin’s. 

He would not let it be lost. 

“I will protect her, and Terrasen,” he vowed. Somewhere, wherever they were with the gods, wherever souls went next, he knew his aunt and his uncle heard him.

He turned and left the room without looking back. 

.

.

.

The news came later that Orlon was dead. 

Aelin had been curled up in Marion’s lap, and had Marion not thrust his cousin into his arms, Aedion would have gotten up and smacked the servant who burst in and bellowed the news. 

Aelin was limp in his grip. Marion had washed her clean of the blood, dressed her in a new, warm dress, and wrapped her in a blanket. The three of them had been sitting by the kitchen fire the entire night. 

The Sword of Orynth was strapped to his hip. Marion had taken one look at it and smiled at him sadly. “Rhoe would have been proud to have you carry it.” 

Marion turned back around after she sent the servant for help, chewing harshly on her bottom lip. 

Aedion could read the fear in her expression. Her husband and daughter were still in Orynth, waiting for her return. 

There had been no news about what had befallen the capital. 

Aelin shifted slightly in his grip, her eyes rimmed red and fear contorting her expression. 

His cousin was now Queen of Terrasen. 

Aelin - little Aelin - was now Queen of Terrasen, because her family was _dead_. 

His grip on her tightened.

Marion took her seat again, her hands clasped tightly on her lap. Aelin peered at her over the blankets, and Marion immediately schooled her expression into something more reassuring. 

“Don’t worry, little one,” she soothed, reaching out to run her hand over Aelin’s unbound hair. “They will be coming as soon as they can, just you wait and see.” 

Aelin’s bottom lip trembled slightly. 

“I am here,” he reminded her, trying to inject a note of steel into his voice, trying to push back the fear that was crawling up his spine. “You are safe with us, Aelin.”

They sat in silence for hours more, until the faint sound of several horses reached them. 

Marion flew for the windows, peeking out from the curtains. From the stiffening of her shoulders, Aedion knew it was not help. 

A deadly calm seemed to steel over his body. 

He stood, putting Aelin on the chair. Her face was white with fear.

Aedion turned, putting himself between her and the doorway. He wrapped his hand around the hilt of the Sword or Orynth. 

A strong hand wrapped tightly around his wrist before he could draw his blade. 

“No,” Marion whispered fiercely, “There are too many.” 

“I can fight-“

“No,” Marion cut him off, her eyes darting over his shoulder to the door, before locking back on his face, “You need to get Aelin out of here.” 

“I stand a better chance at bringing at least a few of them down,” Aedion retorted. “I can buy you and Aelin time to run, to hide.” 

Marion was shaking her head before he even finished. 

“No, it has to be you.” Her hand seemed to shake where it was wrapped around his wrist. “I cannot protect her in the woods. You can, you can protect her until you find help.” 

Marion hurried back to Aelin’s side, cupping the little girl’s face in her hands.

“Listen to me Aelin,” she whispered fiercely. “You stay with Aedion. No matter what you see, no matter what you hear, you do not turn back, understand?”

Aedion bristled at the thought that Marion was telling him to run. He had been training for years now, he knew he had the skills. He might not be able to take them all down, but he would be able to fight. 

Marion pressed a warm, maternal kiss to Aelin’s brow, before scooping her up and thrusting her into Aedion’s arms. 

“I am going to buy you two whatever time I can,” Marion’s face was pale but determined. “Run for the footbridge in the woods, head to the abandoned barn. Do not come out unless you recognize someone. Stick together, protect each other.” 

Looking into her dark eyes, Aedion could not help but think of Elide - little, shy Elide, who had the same dark eyes, who adored her mother. He thought of Cal, who loved his wife with everything he had.

Aedion wanted to _scream_ -

“Please, let me-“

Marion reached around Aelin to hug him tightly.

“Keep her safe, keep yourself safe,” she ordered. 

Marion pulled back and pushed him to the back door. 

“Tell my Elide...” Marion’s voice broke. Aedion watched as she steeled herself, shutting all the fear and sorrow back before she whispered, "Tell my Elide that I love her very much."

She pushed them for the doors one more time. 

“Go!” 

.

.

.

Aedion sprinted as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. 

Aelin clung tightly to his back, her legs tight around his waist. Between his fae strength and the adrenaline coursing through his veins, he was easily able to sprint through the trees with his cousin on his back. 

His heart was pounding in his chest, his brain blank with the horror of seeing Marion - tiny, sweet, kind Marion - cut down by the soldiers. 

_“They are children, you monsters!”_ She had bellowed, no fear in her voice - her hands did not tremble where she gripped her daggers. 

She had managed to slash across the throat of one, the blood flying in a graceful arc from the edges of her blades. 

The remaining soldiers had not hesitated to end her life. 

The yelling of the soldiers behind them told him that they were in close pursuit, the sound of hooves on the forest floor seemed to rumble through his veins. 

They were catching up. 

He strained to run faster. 

The faint whistling was the only warning he had. 

Instinctively ducking to the left, he saw out of the corner of his eye as an arrow embedded itself in the tree a scant half-foot from where his head had been. 

“Keep you head down, tuck your face against my back!” He whispered harshly. 

Aelin obeyed his command immediately. 

He kept running, vaulting over the roots and zig-zagging through the trees, trying his best to avoid being an easy target for the archers. 

The whistle of more arrows was his only answer.

His heart was pounding in his chest, his muscles burned and ached, his lungs screaming from the cold of the air. But he did not stop, did not falter. 

He could see the bridge across the river in the distance - so close, they were so _close_ \- 

“Hold onto me,” he commanded again, and Aelin tightened her grip. 

There, _there_ \- 

Aedion hurtled to the bridge, all but throwing himself between the posts - 

He had been so focused on getting to the bridge, on putting as much space between the soldiers and his cousin, that he didn’t it see, not until it was too late - 

The bridge had been cut. 

Aedion didn’t have time to scream before he and Aelin went hurtling to the icy river below. 

Just before they hit the water, Aedion wrapped one hand in a death grip around Aelin’s ankle and _prayed-_

**Author's Note:**

> i read the entire "throne of glass" series in january and i have fallen down a rabbit hole of obsession and this was the product - please comment and let me know what you think, or feel free to come scream with me on [tumblr!](https://chase-the--wind.tumblr.com/)


End file.
